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Good luck. Bad luck. Who knows?
I’ve been whining lately that the past few months have felt like an avalanche of unfortunate events, starting with Hurricane Helene. Soon after that, I got very sick, and my cough dragged on for weeks. While all that was happening, there were major upheavals at work, causing a load of stress and angst. Then, in…
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You have more time than you think
If I asked you to name three things you wish you had more time for, what would you say? For me, it’s making art, writing, and learning. There’s a book I want to write. I started learning Spanish but lost my rhythm after the hurricane. I enrolled in a project management course weeks ago and…
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Reflections from a Power Outage: Rediscovering Life Without Screens
I woke up to the sound of one of my appliances singing its notification jingle. Then all was silent and very dark. I checked the clock. 6am. That’s when the power went out on September 27, right when the winds of Tropical Storm Helene were ramping up toward their peak in Weaverville. For the first…
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An Inflection Point
On Friday, September 27, Tropical Storm Helene plowed through Western North Carolina (WNC), decimating small towns and the city of Asheville. Just a few days later, the CEO of my company, as a result of a legal battle with another web host, offered anyone not aligned with his mission the opportunity to exit with six…
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Who would I be?
A Journal Entry I’m outside, in my backyard, in the cool shade of a tree on a hot summer day, painting clouds. Could there be anything more luxurious? A few minutes prior, I attempted to sit out here in silence, without anything to occupy my hands and only my thoughts to occupy my mind. It…
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Create your own opportunities for success
As I settled into my new home, my artistic pursuits started nudging me to be more ambitious. I wanted to break free from my sketchbook, and dedicate more time and energy to painting on canvas (my true artistic love). And, I wanted a space to show my work beyond the confines of Instagram’s algorithm. These…
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The Grand Disappointment of Life
Not quite the New Year, New You title you were expecting? Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending. It’s been a while since I last wrote on this blog. I put all creative pursuits aside to focus on searching for, purchasing, and moving into a house (my first real estate purchase!) in an entirely different part of…
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India: 30 Days in 13 Minutes
From February 11 – March 10, 2023, I fulfilled a dream of traveling to India. The first two weeks of the journey, I was with my dad, touring around Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Rishikesh. After he left, I took some time to rest and replenish at a farm near Rishikesh, then ended my journey in…
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Costa Rica Meetup, Girlfriend Time, Toucans and Waterfalls
A couple weeks ago, I traveled to San José, Costa Rica for a meetup with my work team. It was full-on work mode, so we didn’t get a lot of time to explore, until right at the very end when we spent a day trekking around a nature park (more on that below). At work…
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Creativity and Exhaustion
As I worked on the second installment of my Art Vlog, I was struck with the theme of tiredness. For me, working full time seems to be a constant struggle against exhaustion and energy depletion. Naturally, after three months off of work, my brain and body are readjusting to the stress of work – consuming…